Suit filed over Subic demolition
By Tonette Orejas Inquirer
About 70 families on Wednesday filed illegal demolition and harassment complaints against the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the police following last week’s clearing of a Zambales coastal village leased out by the SBMA as site for a shipyard.
Zambales Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain II brought to Undersecretary Percival Chavez, chair of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, the copies of the complaints of settlers at Sitio Agusuhin in Barangay Cawag in Subic town.
Their houses were torn down from April 29 to May 1 in time for the groundbreaking rites of the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. (HHIC) on May 2.
In a letter to the Inquirer, Lacbain said the settlers were protesting not to stop the shipyard project but to protect their homes.
“The affected residents are also supporting the Korean shipyard project and are fully aware of the benefits that will accrue to the country,” said Lacbain in his letter.
“The affected residents are only demanding ... just compensation, acceptable relocation site and livelihood opportunities,” he said.
In March, the South Korean firm signed a $1-billion lease agreement with the SBMA for the construction of a shipyard at Agusuhin, a public land within the jurisdiction of the SBMA.
In their affidavits, the settlers claimed that SBMA forest rangers and members of the police’s Special Action Forces pushed through with the demolition although negotiations were still ongoing and they have yet to receive payments for damages or get clear assurances for relocation and livelihood.
Lacbain said this violated President Macapagal-Arroyo’s Executive Order No. 152 in relation to Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.
Lacbain said SBMA Deputy Administrator Ramon Agregado justified the rush by saying that the President was expected to visit the site and further delays needed to be avoided to stop the pullout of HHIC.
Edgardo Pamintuan, chief of the Subic-Clark Alliance Development (SCAD) Office, said Ms Arroyo was not scheduled to grace the rites. Contrary to local reports, Pamintuan said Ms Arroyo had not made the clearing of houses a requirement for her attendance.
Pamintuan confirmed that HHIC earlier planned to withdraw because on top of already spending P50 million for the “disturbance compensation,” the delay in the demolition slowed down the timetable to meet deadlines to deliver orders for four ships.
Pamintuan defended the SBMA, saying the compensation packages it facilitated—ranging from P25,000 to P900,000—were big considering that the settlers built houses on public lands.
About 70 families on Wednesday filed illegal demolition and harassment complaints against the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the police following last week’s clearing of a Zambales coastal village leased out by the SBMA as site for a shipyard.
Zambales Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain II brought to Undersecretary Percival Chavez, chair of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, the copies of the complaints of settlers at Sitio Agusuhin in Barangay Cawag in Subic town.
Their houses were torn down from April 29 to May 1 in time for the groundbreaking rites of the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. (HHIC) on May 2.
In a letter to the Inquirer, Lacbain said the settlers were protesting not to stop the shipyard project but to protect their homes.
“The affected residents are also supporting the Korean shipyard project and are fully aware of the benefits that will accrue to the country,” said Lacbain in his letter.
“The affected residents are only demanding ... just compensation, acceptable relocation site and livelihood opportunities,” he said.
In March, the South Korean firm signed a $1-billion lease agreement with the SBMA for the construction of a shipyard at Agusuhin, a public land within the jurisdiction of the SBMA.
In their affidavits, the settlers claimed that SBMA forest rangers and members of the police’s Special Action Forces pushed through with the demolition although negotiations were still ongoing and they have yet to receive payments for damages or get clear assurances for relocation and livelihood.
Lacbain said this violated President Macapagal-Arroyo’s Executive Order No. 152 in relation to Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.
Lacbain said SBMA Deputy Administrator Ramon Agregado justified the rush by saying that the President was expected to visit the site and further delays needed to be avoided to stop the pullout of HHIC.
Edgardo Pamintuan, chief of the Subic-Clark Alliance Development (SCAD) Office, said Ms Arroyo was not scheduled to grace the rites. Contrary to local reports, Pamintuan said Ms Arroyo had not made the clearing of houses a requirement for her attendance.
Pamintuan confirmed that HHIC earlier planned to withdraw because on top of already spending P50 million for the “disturbance compensation,” the delay in the demolition slowed down the timetable to meet deadlines to deliver orders for four ships.
Pamintuan defended the SBMA, saying the compensation packages it facilitated—ranging from P25,000 to P900,000—were big considering that the settlers built houses on public lands.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
8:26 AM
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